Perdue Univ Writing Guide: No more "Men" words (1 Viewer)

[Juxtatarot]

Wait.  Human had “man” in it, you neanderthal *****s.

Huperson please.

Of course, human isn't specifying a gender.  Man either does or doesn't which, at a minimum, could lead to confusion.

 

[glvsav37]

I for one support this, because if so, all the world problems must be solved already so that we could dedicate energy to this. 

 

[Bull Dozier]

Of course, human isn't specifying a gender.  Man either does or doesn't which, at a minimum, could lead to confusion.

Mankind doesn't specify gender either, but that is being claimed as unacceptable.

 

[Bronco Billy]

Of course, human isn't specifying a gender.  Man either does or doesn't which, at a minimum, could lead to confusion.

Misogynist clod.  Crawl back under your rock and hate women some more.

 

[Juxtatarot]

Mankind doesn't specify gender either, but that is being claimed as unacceptable.

In my opinion, mankind seems the least potentially offensive in all the examples below.  It just seems strange to fight the change when there are such obviously superior alternatives.

Generic Use

Although MAN in its original sense carried the dual meaning of adult human and adult male, its meaning has come to be so closely identified with adult male that the generic use of MAN and other words with masculine markers should be avoided.

Original: mankind

Alternatives: humanity, people, human beings

Original: man's achievements

Alternative: human achievements

Original: man-made

Alternatives: synthetic, manufactured, machine-made

Original: the common man

Alternatives: the average person, ordinary people

Original: man the stockroom

Alternative: staff the stockroom

Original: nine man-hours

Alternative: nine staff-hours

Occupations

Avoid the use of MAN in occupational terms when persons holding the job could be either male or female.

Original: chairman

Alternatives: coordinator (of a committee or department), moderator (of a meeting), presiding officer, head, chair

Original: businessman

Alternatives: business executive, business person

Original: fireman

Alternative: firefighter

Original: mailman

Alternative: mail carrier

Original: steward and stewardess

Alternative: flight attendant

Original: policeman and policewoman

Alternative: police officer

Original: congressman

Alternative: congressional representative

Historically, some jobs have been dominated by one gender or the other. This has led to the tendency for a person of the opposite gender to be "marked" by adding a reference to gender. You should avoid marking the gender in this fashion in your writing.

Original: male nurse

Alternative: nurse

Original: woman doctor

Alternative: doctor

 

[Bull Dozier]

In my opinion, mankind seems the least potentially offensive in all the examples below.  It just seems strange to fight the change when there are such obviously superior alternatives.

When you start to include every possible word that could be improved, you're going to get some resistance.  Is chairman, congressman, etc offensive because they exclude?  OK, let's have a conversation on that. They probably are offensive because when the words originated, there were probably only men in those positions, thus it made sense to have it specifically male oriented.  The world has changed, let's change that word.  Mankind?  Logically to me that word has always been gender neutral.  If you want to start to include logically gender neutral words in what you are going to be offended by, you are going to lose my interest in finding common ground.

 

[Juxtatarot]

When you start to include every possible word that could be improved, you're going to get some resistance.  Is chairman, congressman, etc offensive because they exclude?  OK, let's have a conversation on that. They probably are offensive because when the words originated, there were probably only men in those positions, thus it made sense to have it specifically male oriented.  The world has changed, let's change that word.  Mankind?  Logically to me that word has always been gender neutral.  If you want to start to include logically gender neutral words in what you are going to be offended by, you are going to lose my interest in finding common ground.

How do you feel about  "man's achievements", "the common man",   "man the stockroom",  and similar terms?  Is it better to use alternatives?

 

[glvsav37]

is it sexist to call soda 'pop'? I mean, pop is a generalized term for father, right? 

*FTR, I hate when people call soda 'pop' so i could agree with abolishing this term lol

 

[playin4beer]

Also there was a chick defending this on foxnews. She recommended instead "person". Which still has "son" in it. Sooooo, doh!

In her defense, it also has "purse" in it too...

 

[mquinnjr]

I blame the Kanamits.

 

[Bull Dozier]

How do you feel about  "man's achievements", "the common man",   "man the stockroom",  and similar terms?  Is it better to use alternatives?

Man's achievements - depends on the context.  I could be open to seeing an improvement to this phrase, though it isn't one I see often. 

The common man - I see this as a male term.  If you wanted a similar term that would include men and women, I think there would be a better term.  My POV might be biased in that I mostly hear this term when listening to a local sports talk personality who goes by "The Common Man."

Man the stockroom - Neutral on this.  Man here is used as a verb, not a gender identification.  I tend to put this in the category of someone being offended by this is looking to be offended.  That said, I'm open to someone telling me my point of view is convenient because I've never been told to "woman" something.

 

[Bronco Billy]

How do you feel about  "man's achievements", "the common man",   "man the stockroom",  and similar terms?  Is it better to use alternatives?

It’s probably best not to be eternally offended, which btw offends me - so please close this thread.